Firstly, sorry not sorry for the flurry of foodie posts. January is when it’s both my birthday and Ash’s and nothing screams celebration more than a good meal out. Although looking at the photo above, you’d think it was Alfie’s birthday with the size of that pudding!
Secondly, is it
even your birthday if the celebrations don’t go on for at least a week? Mine
was a fortnight ago now, but that didn’t stop me getting the party started the
weekend before and then prolonging it for as long as possible!
Our first meal
out was just the three of us, a nice cosy Saturday night at the pub. Ash had
booked a table at somewhere I’ve been meaning to go for ages – The Oakley Arms in Harrold, Bedfordshire. It was about 40-45 minutes from us, but well worth it…
and it’s actually run by one of my friends from secondary school! I know, what
are the chances we both wound up this way?
The night that
we ate, there had been a big party during the day, so the restaurant was still
quite busy. We had a lovely bay window table in the Bakery Bar – which was much
quieter and cosier. During the day, there’s a lovely cake counter – and Alfie
enjoyed reading the names of all the cakes that we missed. My waistline is very
glad we aren’t just around the corner… I often see the latest bakes on Instagram,
and they are dreamy!
I was actually
torn between four dishes and in the end, went for the pan-roasted cod and
crispy mussels in a ginger and coconut broth, with turmeric potatoes. It was
sensational – and the crispy mussels were a real gamechanger. The broth was so
flavoursome, complementing the fish well. It must have been good as I’m
normally a notoriously slow eater and I felt like I demolished it! And better still,
didn’t feel overly full so I could manage one of the delicious desserts.
We all chose
puddings and again it was a bit of a dilemma – as I said, they are all homemade,
so I wanted them all! In fact, I’m the sort of person that could skip the main
course and just have a dessert platter! Ash and I both had the spiced apple and
plum pumble – a cross between a pie and a crumble. The chopped fruit filled a
pastry base, which was topped with a yummy, buttery crumble mix… heaven! I’m
glad we’d ordered one each and didn’t share, as it was divine. I could have
eaten it twice.
I’ve heard good
thing about their Sunday roasts, and I’ve also seen on Instagram, there’s a
weekly pie night. If you’re local, be sure to check it out – even if it is for a
drink and a cake! The Oakley Arms is a lovely village pub and Lizzie and Andy run it so well. We will have to
go back again soon.
Love, Lucy xx
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Love, Lucy xx